Chapter 2: How She Accepted

Travel makes one modest,

you see what a tiny place

you occupy in the world.

-Gustave Flaubert

This was another world, maybe another dimention. Thinking back to what the moon goddess, Kaguya, was capable of, it was possible - no - plausible that the earth she was currently standing on was not her own.

Two weeks.

It had taken her two weeks after she stumbled upon the bloody battlefield to be certain that she really wasn't in the land of fire or any land she was familiar with. It was in the way people dressed. The way they walked and talked. The way their cities were built and the most obvious of all, how there weren't any ninjas around. The time she asked people about it, albeit, subtly, they'd stare at her hair, her eyes and her clothes, like everything about her was strange and out of place. When she took the time to observe people, she realized that she, her presence and her appearance was strange - out of ordinary - because nobody had hair or eyes like hers. Granted, even in her own village, and perhaps their world, nobody had pink hair. Still, the fact that most people had shades of black and brown for hair, it became obvious. That she was the one who's different, not them.

The fact that she never sensed any huge amounts of chakra from anybody reinforced her belief that she was somehow transported out of her world. It should have been common to have at least one person have a measurable amount of chakra since ninjas walk among civilians. Dread filled her being at realizing that she was right. She didn't know how or why she was sent in this world but she was determined to find out. She needed to get home. She needed to be with her family, with her friends, with Sasuke. She wanted to cry at the thought. She may be a strong Kunoichi but that didn't change the fact that she was currently in a world she didn't recognize, a world that didn't recognize her. She felt stranded and alone. She liked to think she could have a moment of weakness in these circumstances.

Clenching her fists, she continued walking straight on the dirt road. On her right was a vast land of green. She looked on the beautiful scenery before her with grass abundant on horizons as she tightened her hold on the bag on her back. She had secured some money from the previous city she was in by working odd jobs for rich merchants and people who had money that could provide for her services. It was true she could have stolen some money or some items from people in the city, especially with how lax security was and how pathetically easy it would have been to simply do so. She was however, Sakura Haruno, the fact that she hated those kinds of things didn't change even after finding herself in an unfamiliar land and unfamiliar people. Besides, the work she had to do were pretty easy as it mostly consisted of hard labor, which didn't particularly tire her. Interacting with people from rich to poor helped her learn more about the world she was in, in particular, the state and city she had been.

State of Qin and it's royal capital, Kanyou, they said.

The city was grandiose and impressive, consisting of inner walls for the rich and privileged and the outer walls that protects the middle and lower caste which Sakura guessed was the same in other states. Some people were good, most were arrogant, dismissive and had plenty of spite. Basically most people in this world, maybe just in that city, was full of bullshit. Her henge probably helped her in securing a few jobs as she was a little bit, admittedly, vain. She 'dolled' up her henge though not as handsome as she would have liked since the whole point of using henge in the first place was to mingle and fit in with the crowd. She was a favorite of the merchant wives. Apparently, good looking people tend to have more luck even in other worlds.

She sighed as she thought back to the more troublesome ladies that wanted something a little more on the side of disgusting and blanched. That certainly was an experience she didn't want to remember.

After securing money, food and belonging, although she didn't need much since she had her stuff with her when she got to this world, she immediately departed to wander around and see if she could find something or someone that could possibly help her get back to her home. She doubted it would be easy. The world is too big, her shishou used to say. That probably applied to this world too, she guessed.

She was nearing a small village that could be seen in a distance when she finally let her mind relax a bit and enjoy the fresh air. It was a little too hot though, the sun glaring at midday and in open space, she wondered if she could travel after taking shade somewhere. She looked at the fields and the nearing village and decided against it. She'll be taking shelter from the sun when she arrives.

Moments later, she neared a house, more of a bigger hut for Sakura though, when she heard loud yelling just ahead of her. She strayed from the dirt path to see what the fuss was about and saw two kids holding wooden swords and playing - no - sparring on the grass. She stopped for a moment to just look at them. They were so lively and full of spirits, surprisingly, they knew a little of what they were doing. The two kids obviously did not have proper training but was doing pretty well. She smiled to herself when she saw the short-haired kid get hit in the head, remembering Naruto at the scene. She couldn't hear them but they were evidently arguing about something.

She heard the carriage coming her way stop and she proceeded to walking along the road to go to the village. She saw a luxuriously dressed old man approach the kids in the corner of her eye and then looked ahead. She couldn't afford to be slow if she wanted to get home after all.

It took her another two weeks to reach a dense forest.

She wanted to reach another city or village to gather a bit more information on everything that could help her. Maybe there were mysterious people or powerful people that might have an idea how she got to this world. Maybe someone who knew about the rabbit goddess as she doubted it was only her world that Kaguya and her kind visited. She refused to accept the possibility of nothing.

This world was as bloody as hers had been, maybe even more with all the wars that happen within months. She didn't understand though. People in this world were basically just civilians their low chakra, even their soldiers, generals and undoubtedly, their kings were civilians without access to power the ninjas had in her world. She told herself that people were greedy, even without power. She supposed soldiers and generals just followed what the monarchy tells them to do as it was their jobs. Much like a ninja receiving orders from their Hokage and a Hokage receiving orders from Daimyo.

She put a stop to her thoughts as she wouldn't even be involved with wars and politics in this world. It was none of her business. Her only priority was to get home where her husband was.

She looked at her surroundings, feeling a bit tense. The forest became denser as she walked along the rough road. She was almost reminded of the surrounding forest of Konoha. While she encountered some wild animals, mostly boars, which served a great source of protein, she also encountered people along the way. Some travellers who took the opportunity to sell some of their things, some who rushed through the road without speaking, bandits who naturally thought they could kill her and take her belongings with them, and even people who were injured and fled a war.

She didn't want to do anything at first. She had no doubt that people in this world couldn't heal wounds in just mere seconds or minutes even with their best doctors. It would be unnatural and might be seen as sorcery. Her head told her to leave and ignore the man with a gaping wound on his arm and stomach, but her heart didn't want to. She was a healer. It's not just out of obligation and responsibility, it was about morality. She wanted to help people because it was right and because she could. It would be dangerous if people knew what she could do but as she looked at the man's suffering face, she found she wouldn't be able to leave even if she wanted to. There was only one thing she could do. She treated his wounds after sending chakra that would render him unconscious. It was what she basically did whenever she sees someone that she could treat on the road.

Now that she was lost in the woods, she hoped she wouldn't be walking to nowhere because it didn't seem as though there were people living in this place.

Sakura learned to travel on road unguarded enough to be called carefree and nonchalant but with vigilance nontheless. It was one of the things she naturally picked up when travelling with Sasuke. It was also how she detected bandits before they even moved to position despite strolling through the road. It was how she was now sensing practiced movements from beyond the trees. These people sneaking up on her were not ordinary men. They weren't sloppy at all. She almost hoped they would be ninjas. She, however, wasn't sensing a particular amount of chakra. Trying not to feel too disappointed, she waited for their move. They were either setting up an ambush for whatever reason or just observing a person coming through the forest. She hoped it was the latter.

There should be about fifteen to twenty people on her track. It was an unusually big number, specially for just following one person. Their home or base might have been nearby. They were just observing her until someone shouted something angrily in a language she didn't understand. She tensed as two people charged at her. Both of them wore masks and lunged with swords swinging down towards her. They were fast but she was faster. She stepped forward and shifted her body so she was in between their blades, all the while she raised her arm, her hand touching the forearm of the man on her left, slapping it down and her elbow hitting the right man's arm up, disorienting them both at once before she used her hand to chop the former's neck causing him to instantly black out while she spun to punch the other in the solar plexus, also knocking him unconscious.

Silence surrounded her before shouts began to almost deafen her hearing. Then they attacked. Despite the growing number of people coming at her, she didn't have any difficulty in defending herself and subduing them. She certainly didn't want to kill anyone, just knocking them out was sufficient enough. After a while of fighting she wondered how many of them there were because she'd already subdued a little more than fourty. Then came a sudden halt as every single person who previously surrounded her ran back to the forest after one person shouted.

A man of great build showed himself. He was massive, towering over her with a mask that had three sharp spikes. The thing she mostly noted was the big circular stone he was holding - no, it was more of a huge stone on stick. She would have laughed if this wasn't akin to an aggressive situation. To his right was a man much smaller, though still taller than her, hiding behind a mask with five blunted spikes and holding two swords. Both of them had a more superior aura than the rest. They were also dressed in cloth, at least on their waist. Now that she thought about it, the people who attacked her, who're now on the ground wore clothes made of hay straw grass. She assumed it was unusual in this world, seeing as normal people wore normal clothing, though not exactly silk but cotton or linen at least.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the smaller man spoke.

She listened.

And didn't understand.

What she heard was more of " #^^#*%#$% %...&%#$% " than anything she'd ever heard in her life. His tone held a bit of respect though. His voice was rough but he spoke clear and with purpose, with threat but not entirely aggressive, which she wasn't sure what do with.

He spoke more gibberish before facing the massive man and talked while the other nodded.

Moments after, they both looked at her and the massive man let out a war cry before dashing with surprising speed considering his size and swung his weapon with apparent power, aiming at her head. She considered flicking the weapon away with a finger, maybe slap it away with her palm. She ducked, flash stepping inside his guard and punching his solar plexus with enough force to knock him out. He didn't. She jumped back a distance, a bit surprised that he withstood her punch. She didn't use a chakra-laden fist but she was careful to match her strength in accordance to his massive build. He stood up after coughing for a bit.

Impressed with his resiliency, she gave him time to recover his senses and allowed him to attack her again. This time she swiftly climbed on his back and delivered a blow on the back of his head. This time, he stayed down.

She heard mumbling from around her before facing the smaller man. She half expected him to be angry and rush at her after defeating his friend but he appeared calm and composed, not that she could be sure with his mask in the way.

Again, she waited for him to make a move. With a small grunt, he charged silently and swung his swords from both sides. She dodged. With agility, speed and obvious strength, he again swung his swords, this time, slashing so she'd be caught between the blades. She jumped back, quickly retrieving her kunai from her pouch and putting up her guard. This guy was different. He was fast and precise, she couldn't afford to be as easy going as she was like before.

She readied herself as the man attacked her with a series of heavy and fluid movements she found impressive. At first glance you'd say he was attacking her wildly with everything he had, in reality, his movements were the opposite. He definitely knew he had to finish her fast if he wanted to beat her. He nearly nicked her leg when he had a sudden burst of movement. She silently thanked her time of training with her husband as she definitely would have been wounded had she not had experienced fighting with a sword. Sasuke's sword was was definitely faster but this guy's sword swung from unexpected directions.

She saw her chance when his right hand swung a bit wider. Not taking any chances, she hurriedly held his left arm as it swung towards her head, swiftly tugging on his ankle as she pushed him forward to the ground, gripping and locking his arm behind his back while pointing her kunai to his neck.

Outraged cries could be heard from all around the forest, then the man beneath her spoke loud and commanding before everything became silent once again.

Sakura wondered what to do now that their apparent commanding figure was now beaten. The people hidden in the woods may attack her or let her go. With the former, the encounters would be endless. The latter would probably be much more convenient. She just wasn't that sure.

Her thoughts were broken as she suddenly felt dizziness, her eyes became unfocused. She could feel her chakra being disturbed, her henge being undone before feeling the world go upside down, then she was out.

NOT EDITED.

In this fic, I'm assuming that Sakura and Sasuke married in between their travels even before conceiving Sarada. Because I seriously can't picture them doing the deed without having married first. With Kingdom though, I'm making things up because I read kingdom and Naruto Series last year and my memory about the two are hazy at best. I'll try my best to stick to kingdom timeline though. I'm also not sure how well I'll be able to incorporate Sakura into Kingdom verse, whether she'll have a big role or a minor one but I'll make sure she'll have an interesting time in this story.

A huge thanks to people who R&R and F&F, the first chap didn't even reach 500 words but you still read it. ToT

Lastly, thanks to LChan3706! I actually already wrote of this chapter last month but was reluctant to finish because there were things I needed to do first (Thesis), but after reading your review I kinda wanted to finish it faster just to update. I'm not saying I'm not doing any work on my thesis, just that I had time and I wanted to do it. Without you, I'd probably be updating in months or possibly years lol. I got really excited when I saw you, in particular, review on my story because I know your works and somehow I love the idea of Sakura and Kanki in your fanfiction, The Beheader. Naruto x Kingdom fanfiction has like, just six stories including mine, and two of them are yours! And yes, I do agree that there are more characters suited to be in Kingdom verse. Naruto just seem, well, OP for it. Not that I hate the idea, just not a fan of it. He'd cause too big of a change if he was in Kingdom, seriously. I hope this update was good... or something. My message to you is too long, I should have pm-ed you this lol.