I finally decided to introduce the first canon character from the original show and manga. After the 20 years timeskip, It became an undeniable fact that Sakura is now the strongest woman in the Leaf village, not only by inheriting Tsunade's abilities and strengths but also by inheriting her fierce will as a medical Kunoichi.

Chapter ~ 5
Enter The Mightiest Kunoichi in Konoha

30 minutes later...

Katsumi grabbed her left injured arm, squeezing it softly with her tiny fingers. She let out a tiny whimper as she began to utter faintly.

"I think my arm is broken too..."

She rose her head slightly to look towards the male who was standing a few feets away from her.

"Shouldn't we get moving already? We took enough time to rest."

Kyuseishu was staring silently into the sandy ground extended over the line of his eyesight. His upper half and his both arms were wrapped up entirely with huge, white bandages made him look like a mummy except for his hands. The thick bandages were lightly splattered with reddish stains due to the bleeding wounds underneath them. He parted his lips slightly letting out a soft sigh and rested his hand down on his left knee.

"... Don't worry... That bastard won't return now ... However, If we reach the Hidden Leaf when it's day already, we would have better chances to find a Medical-Nin without raising doubts around us... hng!"

He paused to take in an inhale into his longs and held his side with one hand, clenching his teeth lightly.

"Hmph, It seems... It seems the sand is still doing it's job effectively inside my body..."

He murmured while staring down deeply at his right hand placed on his knee for a couple of moments remembering that he shouldn't express his pain in front of Katsumi. She eyed him silently with eyes filled with mixture of concern and worrisome then she sluggishly held her hands down over her hips waiting for him to spill out their next procedure without leaving her in a killer suspense. She had noticed that he wasn't scattered in his thoughts even with his current hard condition.

"..."

Kyuseishu eventually lifted his eyes off the ground slowly and gazed forward with determined expression.

"DEPART!"

The two of them suddenly disappeared leaving a small clouds of dust hovering over the ground of sand and blood.

...

One hour later...

The sun started to send it's pale rays slowly upon the woods, clarifying the sight some by some while wiping out the remained darkness from underneath the thick trees of the silent forest.

As the tiny dew droplets stuck on the leaves begun to reflect the sun rays, it gave a shiny, glamorous luster to the entire landscape with the raise of the sunshine. Two persons were crashing the ground with their feets as they ran across the trees, dashing forward towards a certain destination while arching their backs a bit. They were holding their arms backwards as they run to grant themselves better momentum.

One of the two persons was Kyuseishu. He hopped up to a tree branch above him without pausing and stomped on the branch with his both feet before leaping onwards to the next tree while fixing his gaze forward. Katsumi leaped onwards behind him after kicking herself off the same branch swiftly as she lifted up her arms above her head every time she prepares to land. She wasn't wearing any coat over her ruptured clothes so her shirt was swaying up to follow her motion, revealing partially the sexy curves of her fruity body. Her facial expression was relatively calm and she was gazing forward firmly with slight arched eybrows... She eventually parted her pale lips and whispered.

"Anyways..."

Kyuseishu looked back at her slightly across his shoulder while jumping up off a fluffy tree branch.

"What is it!?"

"What makes you sure about it? I mean, I don't like this feeling right now... We are approaching from Konoha more and more but isn't it weird to be so quiet around? You said if we enter the village when it is already a day, we won't confront any obstacles but this utter silence around calls for suspicions... We have to stay alert, they might set up traps here and there to hunt you down thinking that you might decide to return to Konoha for some reason."

She spoke as she landed with her both feet swiftly on the tree branch behind him while throwing her arms backwards. The wind blew up her silk hair strands softly behind her head as she did so.

Kyuseishu smirked while gazing forward with confident look as he jumped off his current spot on a fluffy tree branch down to the dirt while holding his arms skyward. His current physical condition wouldn't allow him to even walk few steps without collapsing if he wasn't possessing a strong will and faith.

"They'd never expect me to come back so they won't set any traps."

He whispered faintly as the wind swished the worn black coat that he was wearing over his bandages. He ran onwards on the solid ground throwing his arms backwards likewise and feeling a weird nostalgia to his village the more he approaches from it like if he had abandoned it for several years. It's not like he had friends there anyways.

Katsumi landed on the ground few meters behind him lowering herself down in a cat-like stance before starting to run onwards as she fixed her blank gaze on him.

"What makes you sure about it?"

She wondered watching Kyuseishu leaping up swiftly over a low branch.

He took about two minutes before replying to her wonder.

"... The current Hokage is a cocky bastard. I am highly reassured that he wouldn't expect me to return after abandoning the village on my free will... I believe he is busy with other serious issues."

Katsumi's hazel eyes narrowed slightly with concern, presuming a more clarified statement from him.

"... The Hokage?"

Kyuseishu exhaled out a light breathe as a sweat drop rolled down on the side of his head. He believed that his body attained it's limits and he might collapse soon without being able to stand again.

"Yeah... Like I told you before. The Hokage was the one who ordered several ANBU members to capture me before I could leave the village. The ANBU squads of Konoha work under his direct orders since the ANBU'S commander is absent."

Katsumi sharpened her eyes as she stared at him while listening to him with disturbed concern before murmuring slowly.

"So... it'll be difficult for us to enter Konoha in this case, if we possibly get noticed and... Plus, if we would have to confront our enemies in our current conditions... Think of it..."

Her eyes widened with anxiety as she pictured that possibility happening in her mind.

"We will get defeated and captured easily for sure!"

Kyuseishu shrugged his shoulders and smirked.

"I still have my plan."

He whispered confidently while maintained his calm expression over his face. His plan was actually none but an empty plan. Not like he got time to think of that because he found himself forced to return, he never predicted that a tough warrior would cross his path right from the beginning and knock him out to death.

"..."

They eventually arrived across from a large stony road which was dividing the forest in half and leading directly to the Konoha's front Gate. Kyuseishu stopped running near a tree over the road and lifted up his hand as a signal for Katsumi to halt while he started to scan the road cautiously with his eyes narrowed. Katsumi landed beside of him and ducked her head down a bit while placing her left hand on his shoulder gently.

"Is the way passable?"

She muttered. Kyuseishu continued to eye the road carefully before sending his glance towards the Gate which was located about 100 meters away from them.

"... I think the way is secure at the moment. Put on your coat and let's go!"

...

Few minutes later...

A long hallway was separating right and left two lines of chambers. The several glowing lamps were stuck on the ceiling of the hall lighting the floor with it's dimmed rays of light.

As the sun rays started to slowly infiltrate into the hall through the tiny slits on the stony walls, Two human silhouettes could be seen marching slowly onto the hall. they were wearing similar black coats which were covering their upper halves and slightly their bottom halves in addition of two hoods over their heads covered their appearances.

Their shoulders were attached while they continued to walk forward cautiously side by side. The person on the left appeared to be a male, he was a bit taller than the other one to the right side who was certainly a female.

"..."

The male lifted his index finger vertically over his lips and hissed softly while staring down over the floor...

"We barely made it inside though. This'll be our lucky day if we find `her` without any troublesome..."

He whispered quietly with a barely audible voice as he kept walking across from the left wall with careful steps... The female snuggled with her shoulder closer from the male's as she walked as quiet as she could, trying to moderate any breathe coming out from her lips so it won't make any noise. The were infiltrating the most restricted area in Konoha after all which was the hospital.

"Aye... Your sneaking ability helped a lot to make us pass through the hospital barriers without any troubles... I just hope she'd agree to heal us up when we find her."

She muttered lowly. The male tilted his head slightly while glancing down at the floor as both of them approached a large door on the left wall.

"Your very sensitive senses also helped... Well, we have to remain quite now... this door is the one before the last one in this corridor so we gotta hurry and check the chamber... Shit! I forgot which room is her personal office..."

The female nodded slowly while clutching into his clothes with her tiny fingers gently like if she has been watching a ghost approaching. She gazed towards the door suspiciously as they kept marching forth closer and closer from it.

"I ain't a sensor-type Kunoichi though but I can't feel somebody's presence in that room... My anticipation can be wrong sometimes so let's check it out."

A feminine foot wearing a black shinobi boot landed suddenly on the floor of the hall few meters behind the sneaking duo. They both flinched at the same time as they halted in their spot, hearing the echoed footstep behind them.

"!"

The male rolled his eyes to one corner nervously without turning around to glance at the mysterious woman that sneaked up behind them.

'We are busted...'

He murmured and gulped lightly with irritation, trying to figure out the identity of the woman who appeared to be wearing a pair of toeless, black shinobi boots revealing her neatly painted toes, in addition of a knee-length pale red skirt. She eventually started to whisper with calm, elide voice before he could observe her facial features.

"Isn't it already too early for visiting time, eh?"

The surprised female who froze from the shock beside the male squinted her eyebrows nervously as she rolled her eyes to the right corner, attempting to grant herself a partial view of the woman. She felt that her anxiety reached it's climax, making her legs grow numb and start to tremble under her without even being able to spill a word.

"..."

The woman smirked faintly while curling her pale pinkish lips in sarcastic manner before she continued to whisper with the same tone of voice.

"I am impressed that you both managed to infiltrate the second floor of the hospital without attracting anyone's attention... But unfortunately, it's too bad for you now that I were the one to capture you red-handed."

She said, letting out a small sigh through her fluffy lips. The male narrowed his dark eyes, trying to remain unfazed as he looked back ahead of him, revealing that he was Kyuseishu himself.

'Her voice... sounds familiar... But... since she had noticed us, I can't let her go...'

He whispered to himself and suddenly turned around before quickly dashing in the opposite direction as he shoved the elbow of his right arm towards the woman's face aggressively.

"We won't figure out until we try!"

Katsumi winced as her eyes twitched surprisingly, watching the male charge at the woman through the corner of her vision.

"!?"

A loud sound of two skins slam echoed through the entire hall of the hospital. Kyuseishu widened his eyes as the hood of his coat fell back, revealing his face entirely. His elbow was slammed onto the woman's opened palms that she used skilfully to stop his unexpected assault. he glared at her shockingly not because of her way to block his elbow but because he realised who she actually was as his eyes fell on her face. He felt that his tongue was heavier than to utter with something due to the shock.

"...!"

The woman wrinkled her nose and blinked slowly, arching her pink eyebrows while glaring up at him with her deep greenish eyes. She wasn't certainly less stunned than he was. Her pink coloured hair was tied on a small pony tail behind her head and some of her other silk hair strands were scattered over her forehead in a messy way. She was a fair skinned woman with average height and flawless body shape.

"... You!"

She exclaimed and shoved his elbow back with her hands. Katsumi gained enough courage and turned around slightly only to stare at Kyuseishu and the woman with confused look.

"And he calls me reckless..."

Kyuseishu pulled away his arm slowly as he narrowed his eyes against the woman while eying her closely. A sweat drop rolled down across the side of his head as he exhaled out his breathe lightly, trying to control and calm down his temper. He was surprised to encounter her face on like this even if he was the one who seeked for her.

"S-Sakura san?!"

He whispered faintly. The pink haired woman shrugged and held her hands down, resting them on her slim waist as she continued to observe him closely with her slight widened eyes. A dumbfounded look was adorning her pretty face.

"You, What are you doing here!?"

She yelped while scanning his body with her eyes firmly but he took a step back and held his shivering hands down across his hips as he hummed with fuzzy voice to himself, never shifting his stare away from her. He couldn't think of a way to prevent himself from going numb in front of her because he realised it will be the most difficult task for him to introduce his issue to her now.

"I ... Actually..."

He mumbled, trying to sort out his thoughts. Katsumi sighed lightly, noticing his odd behaviour in front of the pinkette. She was shocked until he revealed the woman's identity in front of her but now she was tensed up after knowing it. She clutched the collar of her coat, slipping it off herself slowly as she glanced towards the woman trying to keep her facial features seem relaxed.

'So this is Sakura chan...'

She whispered to her inner self while observing closely the pinkette's features and body, seeking for any exclusive physical or psychological aspect that might prompted someone as tough as Kyuseishu to back off in front of her. But ultimately, she couldn't notice any special attribute on her. Maybe because there's was nothing noticeable on her superficial features except her relatively large forehead.

Kyuseishu rubbed his arm sheepishly as a grin started to creep up into his pale lips. For the first time he felt unconfident in what he was about to say.

"Um... I apologise for the way we used to get into here... hehe. However... we came here seeking for you... To help us..."

He said and cleared his throat but he suddenly tensed up, feeling that his body started to get numb even worse than before. His head began to spin around and the pinkette's image started to get misty on his behind his eyes. Sakura gazed at him with featureless expression and shrugged her shoulders carelessly. She eyed him for another couple of seconds before her lips moved.

"... I don't try to be cruel but..."

Katsumi pushed the hood of her coat back and glanced at Kyuseishu for a moment as her brows twitched up, noticing his worsened condition. She believed that the span of his stamina has to be already over even if he tries to push himself to endure more. Shifting her head to look back at Sakura with firm gaze on her eyes, she finally decided to step forth and forget about her worrisome.

"Excuse me... We crossed a long way to arrive here only to meet you... I hope you agree to cooperate with us and help healing us up! Especially Kyuseishu... Because as you can observe, his condition is more critical than mine..."

She said bluntly and blinked while staring at the pinkette's lips, waiting for them to pronounce an answer. Her heart was beating fastly against her chest, pumping more heated blood into her veins and making her cheeks flush.

...