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Sakura couldn't contain her excitement as she watched her old master become Hokage. She was a bit upset she couldn't attend the Sandaime's funeral, but she guessed she was really only meant to experience that once.

And she had to admit, she was incredibly eager to talk to Tsunade. Itachi told her that her old master requested to speak to her after she woke up. And he then warned her that Tsunade probably had an idea of how she managed to delay her injuries progression.

She also had to endure a very long rant from Shisui, with Itachi nodding at some of the points he was making, when they came to visit her after she woke up. In Sakura's defense, she did have it handled. If she didn't know Naruto would be bringing Tsunade so soon after the Chūnin Exams, she probably would have accepted any other help.

But she did know better. And she trusted her chakra control.

She still got sternly told that she was, under no circumstances, allowed to do something so risky again. She reluctantly agreed to try. She made no promises.

Once the ceremony was over, Sakura didn't wait long to see Tsunade. In fact, she saw her the morning after.

"Come in," Tsunade barked after she nodded on the door. Sakura did as she was told and immediately bowed.

"Tsunade-sama," She greeted, standing up straight smiling wide. "I wanted to thank you for healing me."

"It's nice to meet you, Haruno Sakura," The older woman replied politely, gesturing to her when Shizune looked confused. "It's the kid I healed a few days ago-- the one surrounded by Uchiha's. Naruto's girl or whatever."

Sakura's eye twitched. "What did Naruto tell you?"

Tsunade laughed, handing Shizune a stack of papers, who hurried out of the room with them. "Apparently exaggerated truths. Stop wasting time. What is it you want?"

Sakura regained her composure. "Please take me on as your apprentice!"

"Why?" Tsunade asked, a different gleam in her eyes than the previous time she requested this.

Sakura merely smiled. "Because I still have things to learn."

"Your goal?"

She thought back to her old life. That goal was to become strong enough to help Naruto bring Sasuke home. To become someone worthy of the shinobi title. To be strong.

And in this life, she thought about everything that's changed so far. The Uchiha clan was not limited to three, Sasuke didn't get a curse mark, and she'd been bonded with her boys since they were kids.

"I want to protect the ones I love," She said truthfully, watching Tsunade regard her carefully before smirking.

"I'd be dumb to question my own assessment of your skills," Her old master said, finally nodding. "You know it isn't easy."

"I wouldn't want it to be," Sakura replied, bowing one more than. "Thank you, shishō."

Tsunade waved her away. "We're not there yet. Leave before I change my mind. Training field 8 tomorrow at 7."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!"

Sakura didn't know there had been a battle, or more of a skirmish. She was at Tsunade's library, perfecting basic medical ninjutsu a few weeks after she requested to become her apprentice, again. But she was there for when both Itachi and Shisui appeared before the Hokage in ANBU uniform.

"It appears as though Sound ninja have taken Uchiha Sasuke," Itachi informed the Hokage through his mask.

"Damn it, Orochimaru," Tsunade cursed and Sakura felt her heart drop.

She knew Orochimaru wouldn't give up on Sasuke-- but taking him around the time Sasuke left in her old life? She didn't expect that. Because that Sasuke left willingly. This one would never. He didn't have the curse mark in this life. So why?

"Sakura," Her master called and she stood up straight and replied with a 'yes'. "I need you to collect Nara Shikamaru. After that, go to my office."

"Of course!" Sakura affirmed, sparing both ANBU a shared look of worry before she headed for Shikamaru.

It was easy enough to find him. He was cloud watching-- who would have thought?

"Your presence is being requested at the Hokage Tower," Sakura stated, watching him mutter something before slowly getting up. "We should hurry."

"Why'd she send you?" He asked, following her as she jumped onto roofs.

"I'm her apprentice," Sakura answered.

"Man, this is a drag," He complained and she patted his shoulder when they dropped in front of the tower.

"Hey, if this goes well, I'll treat you to a game of shogi," She told him, watching his eye her cautiously.

"You play shogi?" He questioned doubtfully. Though, he mostly knew her as Ino's best friend, so really, she didn't blame him.

Sakura nodded. "I play with Itachi-nii-chan and Shisui-nii-chan usually, though Mikoto and I have played a couple of times too."

Shikamaru actually looked relatively intrigued. "Your team is still really abnormal."

Sakura's expression grew grim. "Just wait for what the Hokage has to say."

When they arrived at Tsunade's office, Sakura knocked and let themselves in when they heard her call for them. Standing before her, they stood still and waited for her to speak.

"Uchiha Sasuke was taken from the village," Tsunade told them bluntly. Shikamaru looked marginally shocked and Sakura's frown only deepened. "I heard about your exam, Shikamaru. When deciding upon Chūnin, yours was the first name to be suggested. Congratulations."

Shikamaru took ahold of the green vest Shizune held out to him and eyed it warily. "I lost my battle."

"You showed intelligence much higher than your peers," Tsunade shrugged. "You also apprehended an entire group of enemy shinobi in order to distract them from pursuing your comrades. A bit idiotic because you exhausted most of your chakra in your battle, but you did what you had to for the sake of the village. A little guidance and you'll become a valuable Chūnin."

Tsunade turned to look at Sakura and managed to keep grin off her face. "Sakura, you have been recommended with the rest of your team for the role of Chūnin. I know your strengths on the training field and have heard of the strategies you come up with for you team. However, I haven't gotten the chance to see any of that in a real situation. Consider this a test-- if you are successful, you will advance. If not, you'll stay a genin until the next exams."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"Your mission is to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke," Tsunade continued. "Shikamaru will be the captain. You will gather a team of individuals and head out immediately. Dismissed."

They nodded and walked out of the room. Shikamaru sighed.

"Get Naruto," He said, stuffing his hands into his pocket. They stayed silent until they were outside. "We need a tracker and a sensory sort of ninja. I've got someone else in mind as well."

"Kiba and Neji?"

"I'll get Neji," Shikamaru decided. "You get Kiba and Naruto?"

"On it, Captain," Sakura winked, taking off as soon as she heard him call her troublesome.

Sakura found Naruto easily-- he was at the Uchiha compound. Mikoto was attempting to soothe his worries but even Sakura could hear the tension in her words. When she arrived, Naruto bounced up and loudly informed her that Sasuke was taken and that Itachi and Shisui were asses because they wouldn't let him leave the village.

"They stopped you from breaking the law, Naruto-kun," Mikoto explained gently. "I assume you already know, Sakura-chan?"

"They informed Tsunade-sama," Sakura responded with a nod. "We're on the team to retrieve him."

Naruto began scrambling for his things and went to push her out of the door, but Mikoto stopped them with a hand on their shoulders.

"And the boys?"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't know what their orders are. They could be tailing us or doing something else."

Mikoto frowned and her hands went to their cheeks, cradling them . "Please bring my son home. I trust you two. Be safe."

"Of course!" They both said, leaving soon after.

They got Kiba, who was at first confused about the entire thing and then agreed, if only to show off his tracking skills.

They made it to the gates first. Shikamaru, Choji, and Neji arrived not too long after. In her old life, this had been the moment she begged Naruto to save Sasuke and bring him home. She wasn't strong enough to go nor could she do anything if she did. She would have been deadweight.

But this time, she took off proudly--though extremely worried-- with the group of boys.

She had heard the story from Shikamaru and Naruto in general. The group they were pursuing kept someone back to buy them time. The boys left someone too in order to continue forward.

Sakura hated it. She hated leaving Choji. Neji. Kiba. And she hated when Shikamaru sent them forward. She knew this is generally how it went down in her old life but that didn't mean she liked it.

She took the phrase "ninja who abandoned their friends are worse than scum" very seriously. She and Naruto, especially her best friend, took that phrase to a new level. Naruto stopped at nothing to get Sasuke back and refused to believe he was a lost cause, even when she feared for the worse. And after the war was lost, she went back in time to save her boys.

So, even though it physically made her sick to leave each of her comrades behind, she knew they'd be okay. For now, at least.

She didn't think about them during the war. She had to focus.

It wasn't long before they landed in a field, with some extremely pale dude guarding the case that had been carrying Sasuke. Though, the barrel was now empty. Their teammate was standing upright and looking at the man with little emotion.

For some reason, she felt that this was too similar to what probably happened in her old life.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out, the two of them coming to a stop. "What are you doing just standing there? These freaks kidnapped you! Why aren't you fighting back?"

When Sasuke didn't respond, Naruto started forward but she grabbed his hand and tugged him back.

"Naruto," She said quietly, sensing the difference in Sasuke's chakra. "Something's wrong with Sasuke-kun."

Her best friend didn't understand what she was saying. "I know that, Sakura-chan! He's being all lazy just standing there! And-- oi! Wait a second, Sasuke! Sasuke!"

Their teammate had turned around, ignoring their presence and started running the opposite way.

At this point, she and Naruto both attempted to get to Sasuke, only to be stopped by the man.

"He's not in control," Sakura breathed out, watching Sasuke disappear into the tree line. "Genjutsu? A mind jutsu? Or is is like what he had done to that slimy medic?"

"Eh?" Naruto looked at her and then back where their teammate was. "What are you talking about?"

"Sasuke's chakra is clouded," Sakura answered, tentatively changing into a battle stance as her focus drifted to their last obstacle. "I can't explain it. But I know Sasuke's chakra. And something's wrong with it. It could be a genjutsu but I'm not sure."

"That. . . makes no sense, Sakura-chan," Naruto stated slowly, but made the sign for the shadow clone jutsu. "But you go on! You're better with genjutsu than me, anyway! I'll pound this guy and catch up!"

"Naruto-"

He gave her a thumbs up, a wide toothy grin that was oh, so reminiscent of the one he gave her in her old life.

But this was different. "I'll be there to have your back! Promise!"

Sakura smiled, forcing the tears swelling in her eyes not to fall. "Thank you, Naruto."

Before the man could stop her from jumping away, Naruto summoned an army of clones and began his attack.

As soon as Sakura hit the trees, she wondered what was warping Sasuke's mind. Had it been genjutsu, he should have been able to break out of it by now. And a seal could explain it-- Sakura wouldn't put manipulating someone's actions and erasing their emotions past Orochimaru. In fact, it seemed like the most plausible explanation.

Distantly, she thought about Sasori and her left hand went up to her stomach. In this life, she didn't have a scar there. But in her old one, she knew more about the infamous Sasori of the Red Sand than he would ever give her credit for. And when he gave her the prize of Orochimaru's spy, she was shocked to see it was Kabuto.

Kabuto was loyal to Orochimaru. So becoming a spy for Sasori willingly made no sense. Unless, she took into account that Sasori utilized a memory concealment jutsu that allowed him to force people to become his spies only to forget about the treachery and serve their people loyally. It had happened with a Suna official.

That couldn't be this, could it? Wouldn't Sasuke say something to them, even if he was under orders? Even if it was that she was annoying or that Naruto was an idiot. She'd welcome that. Instead, she got an emotionless prick that didn't acknowledge them.

Maybe Sasuke wouldn't say anything to them, actually.

Sakura caught up with Sasuke just before he reached The Valley of the End. When she shouted his name, he didn't even bother to look back.

So, this was going to go the difficult way?

She threw a few explosive kunai into a tree branch above Sasuke, the blast breaking it and causing it to drop ahead of him as he continued forward. He jumped back in time, finally looking back and catching her eyes.

Sakura attempted to cast a genjutsu, even if only to eliminate the option that he was under one, and was promptly forced out of his mind. Which meant, he was under one powerful enough to not break free of. But. . . how? The Sharingan could see through almost every genjutsu cast by someone who didn't have it. Even her genjutsus, which mimicked ones cast by the Sharingan to the best it possibly could be, wouldn't be able to hold Sasuke for very long.

There were two possible answers: the genjutsu had a seal backup forcing the Sharingan to stay recessive or it had been cast by an evolved Sharingan.

And in this life, either were possible.

"Sasuke-kun, you're stronger than this genjutsu," She told him calmly, stepping forward cautiously. He eyed her movement and then disappeared.

Fortunately for her, Sasuke was still no where as good as Shisui when he used the body flicker. He left traces of chakra, so she readied herself and spun around, her fist connecting with Sasuke's shoulder as he landed.

"Sorry!" Sakura yelled as he hit the trunk with a rather painful thud. He got up quickly, throwing shuriken recklessly around her.

That's when she heard the pull of the wire. She felt it wrap around her body force her to the tree's trunk. She gasped in pain when he sent electricity through the wire, her eyes growing wide when he appeared in front of her.

He looked straight into her eyes, a sort of foreignness there that she could only associate with a Sasuke she once reserved herself to kill. He stepped towards her, and she noticed that unlike that Sasuke, this one held no emotion in his eyes. They were glazed over and so different from the warmth she was used to seeing directed towards her.

They held no rage, no betrayal, and no utter confusion that the Sasuke from her old life held at that time. He was truly not in control. It was like he had been reprogrammed. So... he had a surprise visit from Obito? He was the only one capable of casting a genjutsu and warping someone's mind so thoroughly.

Or maybe Orochimaru tinkered with Sasori's mind washing jutsu. She really wasn't sure.

"Sasuke-kun, don't," She breathed out, wincing from the electricity coursing through her body. He paused for a moment and she thought she wouldn't have to use her chakra scalpels to break free. But then she saw him do the signs for the chidori and she knew she couldn't rely on an emotional pull to make him hesitate.

She cut through the wire, jumping away as his chidori crashed into the tree trunk.

She couldn't gather her surroundings for long; Sasuke didn't let her. He appeared on the branch next to her, kunai in hand as he started a barrage of direct attacks.

In this, Sakura could keep up. Sasuke was faster-- it would always be a fact, but she was better at hand-to-hand combat. Especially now that her body wouldn't freak out, it's been easier to apply her past knowledge and skills to this life. She still needed to practice, but her skills were easily on par with what they were when she fought Sasori in her old life.

When Sasuke attempted to apply the skills he copied from Lee, Sakura had to fight back a laugh. During the years she was alone in the village, she regularly trained with Lee to hone her taijutsu skills. She had to learn how to avoid Lee's fast strikes before she could even think about delivering any of her own.

She managed to dodge them, applying an explosive tag to the branch before she jumped off. When it exploded, it only knocked Sasuke off course.

Sakura never imagined fighting this Sasuke. Not with how things were going. Not like this.

Training? Sure. It's probably why she could keep up with him, even if he was fast and under some sort of illusion. She grew up sparring with this Sasuke and in her old life she fought with him for months before the war ended.

Sasuke finally managed to get a hit on her, echo her sent her backwards until she caught onto a branch. When he appeared above her, ready to blow a fireball down at her dangling figure, she gulped.

"Teme!" Naruto shouted, appearing seemingly out of no where and kicking him off the branch. "I don't care what has your brain all twisted! You do not hurt Sakura-chan! She is a member of Team 7 and she is our family!"

Sakura took Naruto's shouting as an opening to pull herself up from the branch. Naruto put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and gave her a once over.

"You looked like you were having all the fun, Sakura-chan," He joked before turning to Sasuke, who was recovering from the hit. "Any luck in figuring out what's got his underwear in a twist?"

"I can't be sure," She admitted, bracing herself as Sasuke's attention returned to them. "I haven't gotten the chance to examine it or attempt to break it. He's too quick to do anything."

"Heh, if you need me to knock him out, Sakura-chan, just say so," Naruto smirked, cracking his knuckles. "I've been meaning to pay him back for that punch during training the other day."

"Just nothing too serious?" She bargained, taking a moment to look at her best friend. "He'll give whatever you throw at him right back. And I don't want to lug both of you back to Konoha."

"Not going to participate in the fun?" Naruto asked and they both dodged the kunai Sasuke threw.

"Oh, I will," Sakura assured him and grinned. "I just always end up lugging you two home."

"So not true, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled at they both jumped in to battle their teammate. "I'll have you know that Sasuke carries us around more than you nowadays!"

"So you rely on him?"

"I didn't say that!"

Sakura couldn't help her giggles, but they transformed into a yelp when Sasuke used another fire jutsu. She dodged the flames, landing on a branch above.

Their battle went on for a while. At this point in each of their lives, they were equals. Where one was stronger, their weakness proved to be the other's strength. She almost wanted to scoff at their situation.

It was her stamina and small reserves that took her out of the battle faster than her boys. She hated it, especially when Naruto forced her to stay on the sidelines with a clone standing watch. He claimed it was to ensure she could break Sasuke out of it. Naruto just had to knock him out first.

"I can just punch you and you'll poof away," She told the clone, watching Naruto and Sasuke fight. She didn't hide her bitterness.

"I'll just send another," He told her smugly, sticking his tongue out. When he turned to look at the fight, he saw his original take a rather hard punch to the gut. "Ow, I'm going to feel that later."

Sakura was tempted to use the rest of her chakra and try to dispel the genjutsu or whatever was warping her teammate, but from this distance, success wasn't promised. She would probably just waste her chakra.

While trying to discern what was causing Sasuke's mind to be warped, Sakura didn't notice that Sasuke had gained the upper hand. The clone beside her disappeared with a curse. She wasn't sure how it happened, how Naruto lost consciousness, but if the large indent in the ground around his body was any indication, it was probably from a really hard hit.

Sasuke stalked towards their teammate and her eyes went wide as she heard the crackle of a chidori.

"Naruto!" She screamed in a horrified tone, jumping down from the branch and running towards them. "Stop it!"

In her old life, when this situation presented itself, all Sakura had to do was beg Sasuke to stop and abruptly hug him from behind. In this one, she more or less attempted to tackle him from behind. But the force wasn't enough to fully knock him down. It did, fortunately, break his concentration enough for the chidori to fizzle out.

He looked back at her and she used that moment to lock in a new genjutsu-- one that would release him from whatever it was. Or at least wedge the door open for him to overcome it himself. It had to be enough.

"Sasuke-kun, stop this," She whispered, chakra pouring from her hands that were wrapped around his stomach. She loosened her grasp enough to formed a sign. "Release."

Sasuke continued to stare at her and she saw the traces of confusion begin to leak into his gaze. Then his eyes screwed shut, pain contorting his features and he fell to the ground. She landed on her knees next to him, an arm worriedly strung across his back as he took his head into his hands.

"Sasuke-kun?" She asked tentatively, breathing in sharply as his head snapped up, sharingan blazing.

"Damn," Sasuke cursed. He looked down at his shaking hands and frowned. "What kind of genjutsu was that?"

"I don't think it was exactly a genjutsu," She said softly, watching him with sad eyes when he focused on her. It was with a jolt that she realized his eyes were slightly different."Maybe it was a seal that acted like a genjutsu. What do you remember?"

"Nothing," He told her, his eyes turning back to his hands. "I heard your voice and I saw what was happening. Naruto knocked out, like the idiot he is. The chidori. And I heard you saying my name."

"Hey, look at me," She requested in a low voice, her eyes growing wide when he did as she said. His sharingan was still active and she drew in a sharp breath as she counted the tomoe.

Slowly, she lifted a hand to his cheek, her thumb sweeping underneath his eye. He grew rigid under her touch but didn't say anything or move.

"You have three tomoe," She breathed out, wondering how much pain he felt right now. She understood the sharingan way too well for someone not in the clan. She knew how it worked, how it advanced, and how it ultimately harmed the user when used carelessly. And now she was learning how it could cast illusions and how to break them.

"My mother is going to freak out," He frowned, his eyes flickered to their teammate and she withdrew her hand. "What happened?"

"I think Orochimaru attempted to kidnap you," She explained. "Whatever was affecting your mind wiped you of your emotions-- it was like you were just reacting rather than experiencing any of it. And we had to leave people behind to face off against Sound ninja. They were escorting you to Orochimaru, I think."

"That freak from the Forest of Death?" He inquired and she nodded. "I don't understand why he wants me so badly."

"It could be a number of things," She pointed to his eyes. "Your clan has some of the best visual prowess in the shinobi world. And you're the heir to the clan-- it means your genes have stronger ties to the bloodline trait. It could also be your charming good looks, but that might just be me and almost every girl our age."

"Did you just infer that Orochimaru wants me for my good looks?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I guess it's just me and almost every girl our age," She shrugged, despite the warmth spreading across her cheeks.

"Tch, I don't care what all those other girls think," He scoffed, moving to stand up. "We should get the dobe back."

"I can get him," A voice said, dropping down next to the trio. "You three decided to cause a ruckus while I was in the hospital. Is this an act of revenge for missing training this week?"

"You shouldn't be up and about," Sakura chided, a firm frown set on her features as she regarded her sensei. He held his hands up defensively.

"I was discharged, Sakura, no need to worry," He assured her but she wasn't swayed. "Listen, it was just a backlash from using something I'm not used to resorting to."

"Yeah, yeah," She waved off his pathetic attempt to console her. "Let's just go home."