Chapter 1: A Chance Meeting

Author's Note: Hello everyone, Niamh here. Strap in because this is going to be a lengthy note.

I know it's wild that this story is getting an update. It's very old and technically it's finished but I also wrote this when I was in middle school. I've suddenly become interested in finishing this series of stories but the difference in writing quality between 13 year old me and 23 year old me is very stark. So, I've decided to rewrite this story to get my feet back under me before adding anything new. I lost the original documents years ago when my first computer died so I don't have any notes or anything detailing how this was supposed to go. It's going to be an adventure.

This is far from a serious story; it's a Naruto LotR crossover. There will be some serious moments but overall it's going to tend towards the more humorous side of things (hopefully). Also, depending on my own interest/investment in this rewrite I might cross-post it to Ao3. I don't know how often I will update this. I'm a grad student adrift between finishing my Masters and starting my PhD so in theory I'll have some time over the next year but life is like an ocean and I'm not the best at swimming so I won't make any promises.

Finally, thank you to anyone who decides to reread this because they get an update notification in their email. The kindness and enthusiasm I was met with when I posted this really inspired me to continue working on writing. I would likely still be an abysmal writer if I hadn't turned to fanfiction and the positive interactions I had while working on this story really helped me through a very rough patch of public schooling.

Alright, now that I've said my piece(s), let's jump in!

Updated 9/21/2022

Chapter One: A Chance Meeting

The pounding in her head was unbearable. The world was spinning and she feared if she opened her eyes nausea would overcome her. The woman laid there, back pressed against a soggy pile of leaves, contemplating if it was truly worth getting up.

'This doesn't make sense' the woman thought to herself, 'I hardly remember anything, it's fuzzy, but I know I shouldn't be laying on leaves.' The silence that met her thoughts was strange, but a sharp crack ripped her from her musings as she bolted up, searing pain tearing through her body. Gasping, her eyes snapped open, wild green meeting kindly blue.

A tall, surprisingly sturdy looking old man dressed in strange robes stared at her, shock coloring his face as he lifted his booted foot off a broken twig. The woman twisted backward, legs bending into a low crouch before crumbling on the leaf strewn dirt as a sharp stab of pain tore through her body. The man rushed to her side as she reached toward her torso, a hiss escaping her as fingers grazed ragged flesh. A gaping sword wound, half healed by her own handiwork, marred the flat expanse of her stomach. She stared at the ugly wound dumbly, her mind blank.

"Quickly, we must bandage the wound and get you to a healer" The garbled sounds fell out of the old man's mouth and were met with a puzzled expression from the woman. "Please, my dear this wound will be the end of you if we do not do something about it quickly."

"I don't understand what you're saying." Her words slurred together as she placed her hand over the stomach, letting her instincts guide her.

A wash of gentle green light glowed from her hand and the old man let out a cry of surprise as he watched the strange woman's skin knit itself back together. This was a sort of sorcery unlike any he had seen in Middle Earth.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

Her words were strange, a distorted mess of syllables, but he sensed no malicious intent from her. Unnaturally green eyes peer up at him.

The old man shook his head, not understanding the woman. Yet he heard the weariness and confusion in her voice. Considering his options, it became apparent there was nothing to be done until he understood her. A sigh escaped the man's lips before he brought his staff to both his hands and spoke, words in a strange language dancing lyrically from his tongue. As he spoke, he felt the woman's wary gaze narrow but he focused on the task at hand and silently asked those he served for forgiveness as he broke his oath.

The woman felt a strange, comforting breeze lick her face as a feeling of understanding settled over her. Tentatively, the woman spoke again, fumbling as her mouth formed words that were at once foreign and familiar.

"Who are you? Where am I?" A kind smile spread across the old man's face.

"My name is Gandalf the Gray, and you are in Middle Earth, my dear. A place that I believe is very far from your home." The strange man with an even stranger name stared at the woman expectantly.

"My apologies, I should have introduced myself first. My name is Sakura Haruno," She paused, unsure if she should give up the name of her home. Silently weighing her options, Sakura decided Gandalf was likely her best potential ally and continued speaking. "I am from Konohagakure, one of the great shinobi hidden villages." The old man's caterpillar-like eyebrows shot up at the strange names the woman was using.

"Oh dear, I do believe you are very far from your home indeed. I have never heard of such a place and I am being modest when I say I know more than most about the regions of Middle Earth. As such, I am afraid it is likely that fate has brought you to this world. You traveled through the veil that keeps worlds apart."

Sakura's mind raced as she absorbed this information. She was in a different world, one cut off entirely from the one in which she belonged. 'I was thrown through space and time but-' as the idea crossed her mind, memories from before rushed back to her. A growl tore from her throat.

"Madara." Gandalf tilted his head, brows wrinkled.

"Is this Madara you speak of a deity of some sort?" Sakura snorted, distaste radiating from her.

"He would have you think that. No, he is mortal, at least he should be although he has lived far longer than he should. Although he wields considerable power, it stems from his birthright and the sheer knowledge he accumulated over the years." The woman watched as the old man processed her words but the confusion still lingered.

"It is unexpected that there is any who could pierce the veil between worlds, that is something only the Valar are capable of here-" He broke off as an unexpected thought crossed his mind. "Tell me, how did Madara banish you from your world?"

Sakura bit her lip, her mind racing for a way to explain jutsus and the Mangekyo to this strange man. Hesitantly, she spoke.

"It is difficult to explain. It is clear you have the power to manipulate the world around you, but you channel it in a different way. I could show you, and share with you an understanding of my world." The old man opened his mouth to interrupt, but Sakura rushed on. "Please, you will have to trust me as I do not know where to even begin. Our worlds are very different."

Gandalf mulled this proposition over before cautiously nodding his head. Sakura smiled at him, relief flooding her face as she brought her hands together and sped through the seals for a jutsu she had worked tirelessly on to perfect.

Gandalf started as he opened his eyes. The dark, gnarled forest he had stood in before was gone and in its place was a flat, black expanse marred only by a boulder on which the strange woman sat.

"I know this is confusing, but trust me it will help you make sense of my situation. This is what we call back in my world a genjutsu, an illusion of sorts. They can be used in lots of ways, but this specific one is an illusion of my mind."

"Is there a particular reason the genjutsu is of your mind?" Sakura grinned.

"Yes, this one was created with the help of a dear friend for me to manage my thoughts. I have a sort of second entity in my mind, a personification of my thoughts with which I speak with and argue. With this jutsu I was able to learn to control her and make peace with her, which has made my thoughts much calmer. But I believe I will be able to share my understanding of my world with you and show you the event that occurred right before I appeared in Middle Earth. However, I do not know if there will be side-effects from a flood of new information like this."

Gandalf took this information in stride. He was eager to learn about the world Sakura came from. It had been a long time since he had come across something entirely new and he always relished at the chance to learn.

"By all means my dear, let's try this knowledge sharing you speak of. Would it work in a reverse manner? Could I share information with you? And would I be able to control what information I share? I do not mean to keep secrets, but I am much older than you are aware of and I shudder to think what thousands of years of information might do to your mind." Sakura's jaw dropped open.

"Thousands of years? Man Gramps, you look great for your age." The wizard let out a great chuckle as Sakura stared at him. "Well, I think it will work but please do only share what you think is relevant. I do want to still be a functioning being after this. But I shall try first, yeah?" Gandalf nodded and Sakura brought her hands together in a strange symbol and concentrated.

Gandalf closed his eyes as he felt pressure build behind his forehead. Strange thoughts trickled into his mind, knowledge of jutsus, shinobi, hidden villages, and other foreign concepts became old memories. The thoughts began flowing faster until they flooded the Wizard's mind. Abruptly, the thoughts stopped and the old man collapsed onto the ground, hat flying off, head reeling with this newfound information.

A glowing green hand gently reached out towards the wizard's forehead. Relief coursed through Gandalf's body as the woman eased his pain and he instinctively recognized her incredible control over healing chakra.

"I'm sorry, Gandalf, I lost control over the transfer."

Sakura held her hand out to the wizard, who took it. Gandalf's stomach dropped as he was picked up by the much shorter woman and gently leaned him against the boulder. The space was silent, punctured by Gandalf's labored breathing as he sorted this new information in his mind.

"Sakura, I think you should show me what happened before you appeared here before I share my knowledge of Middle Earth with you." Sakura nodded and brought her hands together, flashing through the necessary seals to begin the second genjutsu.

Gandalf staggered, leaning heavily on his staff as the world shifted and a battlefield appeared before him. Ahead, a haggard Sakura stood with three men, one of them glowing orange and radiating power. Sakura's other two companions were clearly brothers, with dark hair and red eyes. Gandalf instinctively recognized them due to his newfound, innate knowledge of the shinobi world.

"You bastard! I'll kill you!"

Uzumaki Naruto screamed as a tall figure with long, spiky black hair appeared before them, carelessly tossing the body of a white-haired woman to the side. Gandalf watched as a man with short black hair and red eyes flickered into existence, catching the woman before disappearing. He reappeared several feet behind the four shinobi.

"Sakura-chan, please." The man's tone was distraught as he held the bloodied woman close to his chest.

"Go Sakura, we will deal with Madara." Itachi's voice promised pain and Sakura quickly jumped back.

The three shinobi launched themselves at Madara, exchanging blows and jutsu at speeds far beyond Gandalf's ability to keep up. Instead, he turned his attention to Sakura who was furiously working to heal the woman.

"Shisui, what happened to the Kage? I thought they were handling Madara. Are they-?" She broke off, clearly unable to voice the thought out loud.

"They are alive, but they are seriously wounded. Shizune is with a good portion of the medic corps now trying to stabilize them. Mineko kept Madara from finishing them off. I got there too late. He-" Shisui broke off, and took a steadying breath.

Gandalf watched as what he knew to be the Mangekyo Sharingan spun restlessly as Shisui stared at Mineko's lifeless body. The gaping wound through Mineko's chest slowly closed, and Shisui shifted his focus to protecting the medic.

The violent battle continued to rage, and it seemed to Gandalf neither side had the upper hand. Sakura's hands slowly stopped glowing and she wiped her brow before standing up and moving away from Mineko.

"I've stabilized Mineko, we need to move her away from the battle though." Shisui nodded, and picked up the unconscious woman's body. "You do that, I am going to find Obito. He's the one who can-" the rest of her sentence was cut off as Madara appeared before her, eyes spinning furiously.

"You bitch, you'll never get close to Obito." His unhinged snarl was punctured by the appearance of a gaping hole beneath Sakura's feet.

"Sakura!"

Shisui screamed, drawing the attention of the other three nearby. Their shouts of horror abruptly cut off as Sakura disappeared through the hole, her eyes locked with Itachi's. Gandalf watched a flurry of emotions flash through Itachi's eyes, recognizing horror and worry and affection before the vision abruptly ended.

Gandalf blinked, eyes focusing on Sakura who stared at him through misty eyes. The old man slowly reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing it as a muted sob tore through her body. She shook for a minute, stifling the sound of her cries as hot tears streamed down her face. The old wizard simply stood there, a surprisingly comforting presence to Sakura. Slowly, she regained her composure and stood up.

"I'm sorry Gandalf, I should not have broken down like that." Gandalf shook his head and raised his hand in a reassuring gesture.

"My dear, you have suffered a great deal. Finding oneself overcome by emotion is a perfectly sensible reaction." Sakura sniffed, and nodded once in response to his words.

"Thank you. Would you like to share your knowledge of Middle Earth with me? I will initiate the genjutsu and yield control to you, until you have shared all that you think is relevant. I can feel myself running low on chakra, so I will not be able to sustain this setup for long." Gandalf nodded, knowing she had used a majority of her chakra before she was sent to Middle Earth.

"Let us begin."

Sakura brought her hands together, forming a seal and Gandalf felt control wash over him. Brow furrowed, he thought hard about basic knowledge surrounding Middle Earth. The Vala and the Maiar, a brief history of the elves, dwarves, men, and hobbits. Customs and cultures, and knowledge of the Ring and Sauron and Saruman's betrayal. He felt his thoughts begin to stray towards his mission and the origins of Sauron, but he pulled back as it was needless to share this information with Sakura for fear of overloading her with information.

Cutting his thoughts off, he felt the genjutsu drag on for several moments before Sakura ended it.

Sakura collapsed, hands holding her head as she worked to sort through her newfound knowledge of Middle Earth. She felt the old wizard settle heavily on the ground next to her, his breathing labored. A comfortable silence settled over the odd pair as each mulled over what they had learned.

"Sakura my dear, I am afraid the timing of your arrival here could not be more inopportune. The business with the Ring and the impending war is not something I can shift my focus from to search for a way to send you back."

Sakura nodded; her eyes misty. "I understand. Is there any way I can help with this situation? If it were to be tied up, would you then be able to search for a way to send me home?" The Wizard immediately opened his mouth, but after a moment he closed it again and furrowed his brows.

"I must admit, my first instinct is to reject your offer outright and send you somewhere safe to wait out this crisis. But-" Gandalf continued hastily as Sakura's eyes flashed angrily, "upon further consideration of the knowledge and memories you have shared with me I would be foolish to turn down such an offer."

Sakura grinned and hoped to her feet, excitement radiating from her. Having grown up in a civilian merchant family, she had heard stories about dwarves and elves as a child. A book with stories and lovely little illustrations of these fantastical creatures had fallen into her parents' possession when she was young and it had been a favorite for bedtime stories. The chance to meet such beings excited her, and Sakura was grateful she had something to distract herself with rather than obsessing over her teammates fate.

"Well let's get going Gramps! We have a ring to destroy!" Gandalf laughed at her sudden enthusiasm and grasped the woman's extended hand. This time he was prepared when Sakura picked him up and set him gently on his feet.

As they set off, Gandalf examined Sakura closely and shuddered to think of how Elrond would react to this strange woman. Her manner of dress was decidedly odd, and when he pointed this out to her Sakura giggled.

"Well of course I am wearing pants, how else would I fight?"

As Sakura spoke, she glanced down at her dusty outfit. Her black ninja pants – which were tucked into her knee high boots – were spattered in flakes of dried blood and covered in dirt to the point of appearing brown. Her long sleeve chain mesh undershirt was relatively intact, barring the hole left by Madara's sword, and her red sleeveless top with the Haruno family crest on the back and a small red and white fan embroidered on the right side of the collar was similarly dusty and bloodstained.

"Be that as it may, do you have some other clothing or a cloak perhaps to wear for the time being? I would like to attract as little attention as possible while we travel and until we are safely within the walls of Lord Elrond's house."

Sakura nodded and pulled a small scroll from one of her ninja pouches and summoned her black ANBU cloak. Tossing it over her shoulders, she looked at Gandalf and quirked her eyebrow.

"That will do just fine. Come, we must travel quickly and for goodness' sake keep your hood up. I've never seen hair such a hue and I can promise you no one else has either."

He scowled as the woman laughed, clearly finding humor in his serious expression. His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, Gandalf stared Sakura down until she smiled sheepishly and pulled her hood up. Satisfied with how the cloak plunged Sakura's features into obscurity, Gandalf led the way to Rivendell.