Authors notes.
I don't own Naruto.
That is it.
Chapter four.
Crap! I was tired and I got home. Mom hadn't arrived yet. The boys and I got talking the rest of the evening trying to figures out what we wanted to do with our training. Sasuke was mildly impressed with my schedule.
For the guy that probably just trained dreamed about revenge and trained again I take it as a compliment.
"Ah Sakura-chan."
I was just too tired to jump scare, so I just raised an eyebrow to cyclops sensei.
"Yeah?"
"Team meeting tomorrow in the Hokage tower at seven sharp. Be there."
And surprise, surpsrie, there he goes in a puff of smoke. I shrugged and went to bed.
Next morning I was walking to the Hokage tower, it was the first time I was close to it… and Kakashi was there on time waiting for me?
It is a trap!
I raised a leg turning around as Kakashis hand was already on my shoulder with a vice like grip.
"Ohayo Mina tan."
He freaking eye smiled to me. What the hell is wrong with you Kakashi? Stop to terrify me with your freaking eye smiling face!
"Heyah sensei. So where are the boys?"
He steered me to the Hokage tower.
"Ah today is a special meeting between me, you and the Hokage Sakura-chan. You really impressed me yesterday and I though a talk was needed."
I hummed at that. Yeah I had forgotten of Plan C collateral.
Well here, I was in front of the fucking Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed anything but impressed with my presence. Can't blame him tough. I am unimpressive.
"So Kakashi report on your performance does not match the reports delivered to us by the academy Haruno-san."
Ouch, so formal, the man was not understating me at all. Crap, understate me! I need all the bonus points I can get for Plan C.
He just stared at me, I think he wants me to dig my own grave, by nervously tripping on my own lies. Well I just stare at him back. I know, dumb, but if I do dumb enough things I may get out of this as just dense.
Kakashi cleared his throat.
"I think he want to know why is that Sakura-chan."
Score One! Thank you Kakashi!
"Oh. I faked my competency to go to the Genin Corps."
The Hokage, blinked once, and proceed to clean his pipe. He broke eye contact Score Two!
"Ah and why would you do that?"
"For the money of course. The elite program spend too much time training and going on missions, they only begun to really get money when they reach High chuunin. I need it now."
I then glare at Kakashi.
"You actually screw up my plan A to fall into the Gennin Corps by putting me in the team seven holster. You also ruined Plan B by not taking the Uchiha into apprenticeship. It only left me with plan C."
Kakahi stared down at me, looking like his sole eye was trying not to cringe in amusement.
"Oh plan c then?"
I nodded seriously, because, god dammint it is serious. It is my life!
"It is a little more time consuming but it will have to do."
The Hokage cleared his troat.
"And pray tell, Haruno-san, what is plan C."
I blinked at him, furrowed my eyebrows.
"Is to make me and my team mates into fucking Sanins, Hokage-sama."
I raised my eyes to Kakashi.
"I still stand to what I said to you Hatake. I know you are an amazing shinbobi, but I don't believe you have what it takes to teach the foundations of the work to others. You can either help us or get the hell out of our way."
The Hokage coughed, and I have the impression that it is to mask a laugh.
"Well Sakura-chan…"
He called me chan, that means kids. That means he is underestimating me! Yes! Score Trhee!
"I see it now. But you must understand that your capabilities are highly wasted into the Genin Corps. I can't have you there when you obviously belong into the Elite program. My question however is about your, peculiar sealess jutsus."
I blinked at him.
"Oh, I dubbed then hollow jutsus."
Kakashi tilted his head.
"And why is that."
I taped my chin thinking the best way to describe it.
"Can I have a piece of paper and something to draw on it?"
The Hokage nodded and paper and a pencil were on the table, a subtle hint of ANBU nearby. I ignored it. The dumber the better.
"Sweet! Neat trick!"
I then draw two sides of a cliff.
"Okay so it is like that, lets say these are two sides of a cliff. When you do jutsu you build the bridge between then. When the bridge is ready, the jutsu is done. Now these is how most people do justsu."
I draw three thick lines. Crossing the cliff.
"It is made of solid piece of chakra, by being dense it make a strong bridge the complete the jutsu, the bigger the jutsu the greater the number of chackra layers. This is how I make justsu."
I draw two parallel lines with a zig zag in the middle.
"By molding the middle layer into this form my bridge use the same amount of energy then other bridges but is three times stronger. But the truth is that her middle is hollow."
Hokage just stared at it chewing on his pipe.
"I see."
Kakashi put a hand on the top of my head.
"Sakura-chan I am hurt I though you said you were not a genius."
I blinked and looked up to him.
"I am not. I just got a weird brain. I remember almost everything in my life, including my birth day. That is not a found memory. I did take some time to learn how to talk but I was doing chackra molding exercises since I was six months old. My chakra control is prodigious because of my ridiculous amounts of hard work in chakra control."
I smirked internally. Should I? Oh why not?
"If anything I would say that I could be called a genius of hard wor…"
"No!"
I blinked at Kakashis voice and tilted my head.
"Yes?"
"You are right Sakura-chan. There is no need to call you a genius at all."
"Oh. Okay."
I heard a rumbling sound and at the Hokage coughing again in his hand. Yep, definably seeing me as a kid. Score four!
"Anyway Sakura-chan, now I must ask about your variation of the Hiraishin."
The what now? Wait isn't that the Yodaime technique or something?
"The Yodaime technique?"
The Hokage nodded.
"Ahn… I don't know how to do the Hiraishin Hokage-sama."
He looked up to Kakashi who squeezed my shoulder.
"The technique on which you disappear Sakura-chan."
Oh now I get it.
"Oh you talking about the shortcut."
They both stared at me, but Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"Shortcut?"
I nodded very satisfied parroting him.
"Shortcut."
Kakashi eye… Holly shit stop doing it! It freaks me out!... Smiled.
"Could you elaborate about it Sakura-Chan?"
"Sure, it is the smallest distance between two points."
The Hokage was chewing on his pipe.
"Could it be taught?"
I frowned taping my chin. I pick up the paper again and draw two points and rested the pencil in front of the Hokage.
"What is the smallest distance between these two points?"
The Hokage pondered for a moment, and then drew a straight line. I grimaced a little.
"It is not wrong but not right either. It more about a state of mind. I am can't teach the short cut to you Hokage-sama. But in general my jutsus needed a lot of chakra control."
The Hokage nodded.
"And it must consume almost nothing of chakra, as Kakashi informed me that you used it to dodge all his attacks."
"Oh hell no! It uses a hell lot of chakra, two in a roll and I get chakra exhaustion if I am not using my energy tank."
Kakashi blinked, the Hokage blinked. The Hokage took his pipe out of his mouth.
"Energy tank?"
I nodded. Kakashi freaking… Stop doing it! It is not funny! Eye smiled at me.
"Ne Sakura-chan what is this energy tank?"
I smiled proudly at him.
"It is my greatest creation."
I took of my shirt standing with my sports bra. Showing the Seal that took the whole of my back.
"It store chakra for me to use later. This one holds up to ten times my natural reserves."
I put my shirt back and glared at Kakashi.
"You made me use two of these in a row Kakashi! I have meager chakra reserves please remember that in the future."
The Hokage stared at me.
"Who teaches you the art of sealing Sakura?"
Oh crap I lost the chan. But he is still calling me by first name, so yeah that remediable.
"Oh I found the wonderful collection of "The Sealing Arts and You", By Uzumaki Mito. It is an amazing work. The other books that I manage to find about sealing make no sense in comparison."
"I though all book on sealing arts on the shinobi library are only for chunin access or higher. How did you get then Sakura?"
I frowned at that. I really did get them at the library. What is this about chuunin access thing...
"What shinobi library?"
The Hokage blinked at me, Kakashi frowned.
"Were did you found these books Sakura-chan?"
"In the hidden study of the library close to the ramen stand. Why?"
The Hokage made a hand seal and an ANBU appeared by my side. Crap I tensed up stoping my body from doing a short cut.
"Please explain to the ANBU How to get to the hidden study."
Despite the word please, that did not sound like a request.
"Well, you pass the main door take the right on the buzzing corridor…"
Kakashi stooped me.
"Buzzing corridor?"
"Yeah, the seal hiding it must be falling, so when you get close you can hear the chakra of the seal buzzing."
The Hokage made another hand seal and the ANBU switched with another one. Huh, this one must be a sensor.
"Anyway after the buzzing corridor you just turned left on the genjutsu stand and there you are. First time I actually tripped and fell through it."
The ANBU disappeared and Kakashi asked.
"And the other books you read."
I shrugged.
"They are pretty old I guess people forget they were there."
The Hokage begun to rub his eyes, mouthing something about paper work.
"Thank you Sakura-chan, for bringing this up."
I made a happy dance in my mind. I was chan again!
"The books of Mito-sama are still there?"
Oh crap, this will go into uncomfortable area.
"Nope, I hide then in my work shop."
The Hokage stared at me for a long time. What? I am not lying out loud. it is too troublesome to remember all the little details. Half trues no problem, but out right lie for people that live from deception. Nope I am not that stupid… Wait? What?
"I am getting too old for this shit."
Wow! I think I broke the Hokage.
"And where is the work shop?"
"Beneath training ground 22."
The Hokage blinked at me.
"Tell me it has doors."
"Not any more. After I mastered the shortcut I took down the doors. I was too afraid of someone stumbling on my workshop. What I researched in the wrong hand could spell disaster."
The Hokage stared at me again then turned to Kakashi.
"Hatake, it is your genin. Fix it!"
Fix what again?
"Ah Sakura-chan, let's go get the books ne?"
Aw crap.
"Oh I can't do that."
Kakashi blinked at me. Then he begun to eye… I jumped up and grabbed the hen of his jacket. He obviously let me.
"Stop doing the freaking eye smile! It is not natural! It freak me out! You are giving me nightmares with the freaking eye smile!"
Kakashi blinked grabbed me by the shoulders and eye freaking smiled at me as I begun to shudder.
"Ah Sakura-chan I have no idea of what you are talking about. By the way why you can't get the book?"
I stared at the eye smile in the… well… eye.
"You are a terrible person."
I then shook my head.
"The last of the Uzumaki asked me to keep them safe for him. And since the work shop is full of defensive seals, and is continually upgrading itself, it is pretty much the safest safe in konoha right now."
Kakashi looked at the Hokage, who put his pipe down in a really disturbing silence.
"The last Uzumaki?"
I frowned and pulled up the scroll I had used to Naruto, it was actually a small research with my findings about the Uzumaki clan including the pictures and my theories about then guarding the Kyuubi.
The Hokage stared at me while he raised his hand and the scroll burned to ashes in the air. Now that is a fine example of chakra control
"You are not to tell Naruto about this."
I winced.
"I already did. Yesterday when Kakashi sensei disappeared on us."
The Hokage stared less then amused at Kakashi.
"It was when I came to repost to you Hokage-sama."
He still looked less then amused. Huh, good to know I am off the hook. Well I guess I could return the favor.
"I did explain to him that you guys probably take the secret to keep him safe. He did not like it but kind of understood. He really loves you Hokage-sama. But you should probably await a visit soon to clarify a few things."
Wow he suddenly look really old. I guess this is a talk that he did not wanted to have.
"Thank you Sakura-chan."
He seemed to stop a little chewing on his pipe.
"The money."
I blinked at him.
"Why did you said you needed the money?"
I looked down and gulped. Damn.
"After dad died, my uncle, my dad's brother. Decided to party, he got a big loan from the Iakusa and lived as a daymayo for three days. Womem, alchohool, drugs, food clothes. You name it he bought it. On the third day, he killed himself. The Iakuza came knocking on our house. He apparently put us as his collateral. They offered my mother to buy me and call quits. My mom refused and offered herself. She now work hours as a scort for the Iakuza. They retain the money for the debt, but allow her to keep the tips. I do a lot of foraging to stock the house with food."
Wow, now the Hokage looked old.
"Your father was shinobi Sakura-chan, why didn't you came to us for aide?"
I frowned t that.
"But I did."
The Hokage blinked me owlish, just like Naruto. Huh I guess he took it from him then.
"I am sorry what?"
"I did come for help, but every time I got near the tower the ANBU would turn me away. Saying that it was no place for kids. I begged then but they would never listen…"
An ANBU dropped beside the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, we had no knowledge about it."
I blinked at the ANBU the Hokage stared at me.
"Describe the ANBU."
I blinked, they all looked the same.
"Well, tall, using black clothes, blank mask…"
"Wich animal?"
I blinked at him.
"No marking on the mask. It was just blank."
I heard the pipe crunching under his teeth. Geez I pit the ANBU already. The Hokage turned to me.
"No worry Sakura-chan. We will take care of it. I apologize for the gross error on our part towards you and your family. Mebuki was a good men and many of us remember fondly of him."
He… is he serious?
"You are not lying right? you will help my mother?"
He smiled at me, oh my god I could kiss the old man. Stood up and bow down to my hip.
"Thank you Hokage-sama."
Crap my voice cracked up. And the tears on falling on the carpet are sweat. I am not crying damn it!
"Rise Sakura-chan. I still need you to show your work shop to Kakashi. He will fill a report and I will decid if it should be kept or tear down. Do you understand?"
I bowed my head a second time.
"About the Uzumaki books I will await the reports. If I deem they secured enough, they can stay there. Otherwise I will remove then and explain to Naruto about it. Understood?"
I bowed a second time.
"Hai Hokage-sama."
He nodded.
"Dismissed."
Kakashi guided me out side towards training ground 22. I kept my hearth tight, and Kakashi squeezed my shoulder.
"If Hokage-sama said the will help, he will help Sakura0chan. Don't worry."
I nodded, still sweating trough my eyes. Crazy weather right?
